That is one reason why it is interesting to check out Wing Shya, a photographer based in Hong Kong who beside fashion and similar stuff has been shooting on several Wong Kar Wai filmsets. His homepage is here.

[via Asian Photography Blog.]

for his new series ‘luxury’, which is being premiered at the haus der kunst, the award-winning artist photographed fashion shows, horse races as well as art and luxury fairs in international locations such as dubai, durban or moscow – but also munich’s oktoberfest. in ‘luxury’ the international jet-set can be observed how they proudly present the regalia of new money and opulence. using the means of the grotesque, parr is consistent in addressing the phenomenon of a new international upper class following his earlier projects on the working and middle class.

Sounds really interesting. It is shown at Haus der Kunst, München 7 maj - 17 augusti.

Read more here.

Something is missing, though: materiality. Looking at pictures at a computer screen is not the same as looking at a real print with its details and tonality. That becomes apparent when I buy well-printed photobooks and visit photo galleries.

Blake Andrews has started a print swap chain. I think this is a great idea.

Yet another reason to make something out of my plans for starting doing prints again.

Personally I don’t think that cramming, say, 12 megapixels into the sensor and then tweaking the image with software is the way to go. We want to deliver a pure image to the sensor and let the photographer decide. That’s why you may see some exciting point-and-shoot developments by the end of next year that reflect the Leica tradition. I’m sorry I can’t say more about it now.

Does this indicate something along the lines of the Sigma DP1?

Personally, I do not lay awake at night thinking about how the engineers and marketing people in Solms will survive in a digital world, and whether Kaufmann’s words will turn into material objects we can buy and use to take pictures or if the stuff he hints at is vaporware. Instead, I regularly take my M 3 for a walk around town. It feels good.

There are more good portraits at Kuehn’s homepage.

Now, the latest rumour to come out of the PMA is about a possible full-frame sensor for the Leica M8.

Pictures in the usual Corbijn style wouldn’t fit in the genre “famous photographers takes official colour portraits of royalty” - Cecil Beaton and all that -, so criticizing Corbijn for not delivering the great heavy b&w we all love him for is, I think, a bit strange. But let’s make a thought experiment; who knows, Corbijn might have slipped an A12 loaded with Tri-X in after the colour stuff was done?

Don’t think so.

Amateur Photographer has talked to a project manager at Fuji, who claims that they have not yet decided whether to market the camera.

MF rangefinders are an interesting niche, and with Fuji’s history in that segment, it might very well turn out good. Prices for used Mamiya 6’s and Fuji rangefinders seem to hold up well, so there are probably some people out there who would buy the Fuji. If it ever reaches the market.